2014 EU ETS Accreditation and Verification Forum

The main aim of the 2014 EU ETS A&V Forum was to bring together representatives of Member State Competent Authorities, National Accreditation Bodies (NABs), National Certification Bodies (where relevant) and Verifiers to share experiences and suggestions concerning effective and efficient implementation of the EU ETS Accreditation and Verification Regulation, Commission Regulation (EU) No. 600/2012 (AVR).

The 2014 A&V Forum provided a first opportunity for gathered participants to consider implementation following the first complete compliance cycle under the AVR. It also provided participants with an update on the status of European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) activities.

The presentations and discussions addressed relevant aspects of accreditation and verification pertinent to Phase 3 of the EU ETS, with particular attention focused on ensuring consistent understanding of AVR requirements, raised awareness of best practice and helping to ensure a harmonised approach across Member States.

The programme of the A&V Forum was broken down into six main sessions:

• A general introduction by the morning Chair, followed by the Commission setting the scene in terms of available guidance and lists of NABs and accredited verifiers, and findings on Phase 3 A&V compliance to date.
• European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) outline of their activities, including progress on NAB peer evaluations.
• Two NABs providing feedback on their respective experiences concerning required Phase 3 accreditation and indication of what they have learnt.
• Verification, where two presentations were received from the verifiers’ perspective and insight provided into practical verification experiences in Phase 3.
• Competent authority perspective, where presentations were given by MS competent authorities outlining some of the main developments within the Compliance Forum A&V Task Force and some of the findings from CA review of the first Phase 3 annual emission reports and verification reports.
• A round table discussion highlighting hopes for the second and future compliance cycles of Phase 3, where all MS competent authorities provided feedback on priority topics that may be relevant for further consideration by the A&V Task Force (of the Compliance Forum) or the EA EU ETS Network of NABs.

The afternoon Chair drew the day's proceedings to a close with presentation of overall conclusions and recommendations aimed at CAs, NABs and verifiers, as well as possible improvements to available guidance.

Proceedings

• A&V Forum programme
• Morning Chair introduction
• Setting the scene on Phase 3 A&V compliance to date
• Peer evaluation process
• EA other activities and guidance
• Implementation of AVR in The Netherlands
• Romanian experience on EU ETS verifier accreditation
• Verification in Phase 3: Verifier's perspective
• Practical Experiences from a Verifier‘s Perspective
• CA perspective: Main issues
• Information exchange: Year 1 experiences
• CA perspective: Assessment of AERS and VRs
• Round table questions
• Conclusions and recommendations

Location